Colter



(No Model.)

A. HIRSHHMMBR.

' COLTER.

No. 436,478. Patented Sept. 16, M390.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ALBERT HIRSHHEIMER, OF LA GROSSE, VISOONSIN.

COLTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,478, datedSeptember 16, 1890.

Application led J' une 8, 1889. Serial No. 313,624. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT HIESHHEIMEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at La Crosse, in the county of La Crosse and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Colters;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- actdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in colters of the particularclass known as rolling or caster colters; and it consists, iirst, in theconstruction and arrangement of the clasp employed for attaching thesame to the plow-beam, whereby the colter may be attached to a beam ofany form, size, or material without change or addition of parts; second,in the means employed for mounting the fork in which the blade iscarried upon the crank, whereby the blade may be secured in any desiredposition with reference to the beam, either directly underneath the sameor at any required distance to one side of and parallel to the same, andstill be allowed to vibrate to adjust itself to pass any obstructions inits way, and third,whereby the blade may be rigidly secured in anydesired position.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichMFigure 1 is a side view of the colter; Fig. 2, a section of a plow-beamof the ordinary form of wooden beams, showing the clasp as appliedthereto; Fig. 3, a similar view of a beam of the form commonly known asthe T- beam, showing the adaptation of the clasp thereto; Fig. a, aninside view of the plates forming the clasp; and Fig. 5, an under sideview of the colter, showing the method of mounting the fork.

The clasp is composed of an upper and lower plate 1 and 2, respectively,the lower plate being provided with a bearing or clasp 3 at one endthereof, in which the colter-crank is mounted and secured by bolts i 4.The

5o lower plate has a substantially dat upper bearing-surface 5, adaptedto fit closely to the under side of the beam, and is of somewhat greaterlength thau the width of any beam upon which it is to be used. Throughits middle and extending longitudinally nearly from end to end is auelongated slot 6 for the reception and adjustment of the bolts used forsecuring the plates of the clasp in place. The upper plate is ofpeculiar construction, and, as shown, illustrates the principal featureof this part of theinvention. This plate has also either au elongatedslot 6 extending nearly from one end to the other, or a slot extendingpart way from one end to the other, and a bolt-hole in line with theslot and at the other end of the plate. The distance between thebolt-hole and the outer end of the slot, or the length of the slot, isalways of sufficient length so that bolts passed through the slot andbolt-hole, or through each end of the slot and through the slot 6 in theunder plate may pass outside the beam of the plow.

It will be seen by the construction thus far described that the parts ofthe clasp may be used upon any beam of wood or metal havingsubstantially parallel 0r flat upper and lower edges without regard tothe thickness of the beam, and the bearing-points upon which thepressure is exerted by the bolts is still close to the lateral edges ot'the beam, since the bolts lO l0 may be adjusted in the slots in such amanner as to lie closely against the sides of the beam, and the claspmaybe drawn tightly against the upper and lower edges of the beam, thebolts being provided with a lengthened screw-thread to adapt them todif- .ferent thicknesses of beam. The plates when in position form aclasp absolutely rigid with respect to the beam.

To adapt the clasp for use upon a metal beam of the form commonly knownas the T- beam, or of other forms not having lat or parallel upper andlower sides, the upper clasp-plate is provided upon its under side witha groove or channel ll, adapted to conform with the upper edge of thebeam. This channel extends in a direction at right angles to the lengthof the plate and isiutended to lit the top of the beam of inverted-Tshape, as shown in Fig. 3. The channel may be of any required form to itbeams of any preferred form, since the groove is not intended IOO lnecessarily to closely iit the top of the beam,

but simply to give a firm bearing for the clasp thereupon to preventslipping. By reason of the top of the beam entering the groove lateralmovement is prevented, and the plate can be as iirmly secured as in thecase of a fiat beam. The clasp is bolted to the beam in the same manneras before described in the case of a iiat beam. In case of a beam havingfiat upper and lower surface, but so narrow that if the clasp was put onin the manner hereinbefore described there might be danger of the clasptilting to one sido, so that the corner of the beam would enter thegroove, I prefer to make the plate suiciently long so that the bolts mayboth pass through the slot to one side of the groove, leaving the restof the plate to project to one side of the beam, and thus securing aperfectly iiat surface to rest upon the top of the beam. In case of abeam having a iiat top and irregular under surface the lower plateinstead of the upper might be provided with a groove to conform to thesame, or in case o f a cylindrical beam bot-h plates may be' slightlyhollowed out on the inner side to give a iirm bearing-surface.

The second principle feature of the invention relates to the meansemployed for mounting the colter-fork upon crank, whereby the latter maybe secured at any desired position with reference to the beam and thecolterblade be still left free to vibrate from one side to the other andat an equal distance in either direction.

The crank-shaft12 is mounted in a bearing at one end of the clasp insuch a manner that it may be turned so that the crank may point eitherahead or at any angleto one side or the other, and so that it may beraised or lowered and secured in its bearing at any desired point. Thisconstruction is similar to that in `common use, and need not be morespecifically described. Upon the lower end or shorter arm of the crank13 is secured the fork 14, between the arms of which the blade l5 ismounted. The head of the fork 14 has a bearing upon the short arm of thecrank, the crank extending through an aperture in the head and beingsecured in place by means of a bolt or screw 16 set within the end ofthe crank and having a washer 17 thereon, forming a head to hold thefork in place. The length of the bearing formed by the crank is a littlegreater than the length of the head, so that when the bolt or screw 16is tightened the cork is still free to turn upon the crank.

To prevent the complete revolution of the fork upon the crank-arm, andto allow the same to vibrate within certain limits, the washer 17 isprovided with a radial lug 18 upon one side of its circumference whichfits in a notch or aperture 19 in the adjacent part of the head of thefork. The notch is of greater extent than the width of the lug, itswidth being dependent upon the amount of lateral vibration required, andwhen the bolt sans is left free to vibrate, the lug 18 playing in thenotch 19 for that purpose. As the crank is turned either toward or fromthe land the washer is adjusted so that the lug extends in the directionthe blade of the colter is to assume in its center position, and themiddle of the notch being in line with the blade of the colter thedistance to which the blade is allowed to vibrate is equal in eachdirection. The usual method has been to adj ust the head of the forkupon the crank by means of a screw or key iixed in holes for the purposeformed in the crank and adapted to play in a slot or notch in the headof the fork. The objection to this method is that the screw or key mustalways be placed in one of a certain number of iixed positions, and asonlya few apertures can be made without materially weakening thecrank-shaft, in many positions the screw or key will come much nearer toone side than the other of the slot or notch, and hence the amount ofvibration allowed upon one side or in one direction is' Y much greaterthan that in the other.

For the purpose of allowing the fork to be secured in a rigid positionwith reference to the crank, as may at times be desirable, a notch 20,similar to the notch 19, but just large enough to admit the lug 18, isformed upon the end of the head of the fork. When it is desired to holdthe colter. rigidly the washer is turned so that the lug enters thenotch 20, and the bolt or screw being then tightened, the blade isrigidly secured to the crank.

The washer may be held in place either by a bolt passing through theshort arm of the crank and provided with a nut at its upper end, or bymeans of a set-screw tapped into the lower end of the same, or by meansof any other similar device.

The same or a similar device may be employed located upon the top of thehead of the fork, the washer in this case being provided with a lug orarm adapted to engage with a slot upon the upper end of the forkhead, aplain washer in that case being used at the lower end of the-crank-arm,and bothwould be aiforded by the thickness ofthe plate; but it may alsoserve a further purpose of allowing the bearing to be either' raised orlowered by simply reversing the plate so that the projection shallextend upwardly alongside of the beam, or downwardly belowit, in orderto have the bearingpoint as nearly as possible in line with the IOO IIO

.formed aoross plate l on its under side between the bolt-hole and slot,a elamp or bearing for the eolter-erank formed upon the extremity ofplate 2, and bolts passing through said bolt-hole and slots in saidplates, substantially as described, whereby the clamp formed by saidplates and bolts may be rigidly attaehed to a plow-beam of any size orshape.

2. The combination, with the clamp and colter-orank adj ustably mountedin bearings thereon, of a eolter-fork pivotally secured to the end ofsaid crank by means of a bolt passing therethrough, a removable washer17, forming an enlarged head at the lower eX- tremity of said bolt, aradial lug upon said washer, the head of said fork having oppositenotches formed therein in position to receive said lug, one of saidnotches being of a width equal to and the other greater than the widthof said lug, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

In testimony whereof Iafx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT HIRSHHEIMER.

Witnesses:

HARRY MARSH, FRANK E. DAVIS.

